The Sisters of the Woods Ch.5

They parted ways with their mounts at the front door, waving goodbye as the three creatures vanished back into the trees. Adelaide dismounted as well, moving from her broom to the ground without so much as breaking stride. She led the way up the steps, the door swinging open in her wake with no input on her part, as if welcoming her home.

“I’m back!” she called out. “And I brought guests!”

Nothing answered but that didn’t seem to concern her, Adelaide not even slowing as she moved inside. Orlin followed, moving with his usual dignity, though it didn’t escape Nic’s notice that he hesitated just a moment at the threshold. He filed that fact away for later as he climbed the stairs himself and entered.

The interior of the house was both exactly what the outside implied and the last thing Nic was expecting. Immediately inside the front door was a small hallway, barely large enough to hold the four of them at once. Its walls were simple plaster, painted a subdued green colour with wood trimmings stained a dark mahogany. Doors opened on every wall, one old and made of wood, another of frosted glass, and a third a double wide-open space connecting the hall to a large space beyond. A staircase sat against one wall, connecting to a narrow landing overhead, wide enough that two people could climb them at once. Pictures hung on every open surface, images of people that Nic mostly didn’t recognize, save the occasional appearance of Geniveve or Adelaide.

It looked normal, for lack of a better word. An utterly unremarkable entry hall, right down to the large throw rug on the floor and the potted plants dotted about the corners. This room would have been right at home in any reasonably sized dwelling all over the city. Yet that paradoxically made it fit in perfectly. Cohesive chaos.

“Mom!?” Adelaide called. “Sylvie? Where is everybody?”

She moved towards the stairs, continuing to call out for people and receiving no reply. The rest of them hung back, hovering about the entrance hall as they waited for something to happen. Nic wandered a little bit, walking over to take a closer look at the space through the double doors. A sitting room, though only by the technical definition as such rooms didn’t usually have lush greenery and dusty pink flowers growing on the walls.

A clearly intentional choice as the vines grew around the contours of the room, forming a kind of all-natural wallpaper. None of it touched the floor and it grew around several paintings and a large screen, leaving the view clear and unobstructed. Even the ceiling light somehow lent itself to the look, a large cluster of hanging glass bulbs with tiny lights wafting about inside. It was the leather couch and chairs, the things meant for actual sitting, that somehow looked out of place in the sitting room.

He was so intrigued by the contradiction that it took Nic a moment to realize someone else was in the room. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he looked down and found them standing not a foot to his left. A very young girl, four or five at a guess, dressed in a long black robe that hid her arms, topped with a little pointed hat just like Geniveve and Adelaide’s. She stood stock still, staring out from under the brim of her hat to make unblinking eye contact with him.

“Um,” Nic said. “Hello?”

The girl said nothing, instead tilting her head up and opening her mouth to reveal a set of needle fangs. She bared them at Nic, hissing sharply enough to make him flinch, blinking his eyes shut in surprise. When he opened them again, the girl was gone, replaced by a large black cat with piercing yellow eyes. It moved away, hopping up to perch on the back of the couch and glaring intently at the young techne.

“Uh, hi there,” Nic tried. It earned him another hiss and a low, warning growl.

“Lunette,” Geniveve said, appearing at Nic’s shoulder.

“No,” the cat said, startling Nic all over again. It was very strange hearing the voice of a child come out of a full-grown cat. Something in the way the lips didn’t move properly for the sounds.

“She didn’t hurt you, did she?” Geniveve asked.

“Uh, no,” Nic said, patting himself down. “I think I just scared her.”

“Lune, can you just be nice, please?” Geniveve asked of the cat.

“No, weirdo, don’t want.”

“Is everything alright in there?” came Orlin’s voice from the hall. Lunette instantly perked up at the sound.

“Mister Grey!?” she asked, all trace of suspicion gone from her voice.

Geniveve nodded, gesturing back at the entry hall. Lunette gave the highest pitched squeal Nic had ever heard and leapt from the couch. She shifted again in midair, this time into a songbird that took flight and flitted out of the room.

“Sorry about her,” Geniveve said, rubbing the back of her arm. “She doesn’t like strangers.”

“It’s alright,” Nic said before gesturing to the sitting room walls. “This is cool. I’ve never seen plants like these before.”

“Why thank you.”

Another new voice, this one drawing Nic’s eyes to the far side of the room just in time to see another woman emerge from the wall. Older than both Geniveve and Adelaide, though clearly still related to them. She was short, even Geniveve standing over her, though her presence far and away made up for it. She wore a very loud orange dress that reminded Nic of a pumpkin, matched perfectly with a pointed hat, though hers had a much wider brim that flopped down over her big, brown eyes. The last were fixed firmly on Nic as she approached the two of them.

“Well now,” she said. “Who is this you brought home, Veve?”

“This um, this is Nicholas,” Geniveve said, her voice just barely above a mumble. She followed by gesturing at the woman. “Nic this is my sister Sylvie.”

“Hi,” Nic said. He found himself unsure what to do, caught between nodding, raising a hand to shake, and bowing of all things. Sylvie settled the matter by going with the nod option, a gesture Nic happily returned.

“Charmed,” she said. “My, is our little Veve bringing boys home now? They grow up so fast.”

“Sylvie!” Geniveve shrieked, her face erupting in a blush. Nic wasn’t much better, feeling heat rush to his own cheeks. Their reaction was apparently hilarious as Sylvie gave a hearty chuckle at it.    

“It’s not funny,” Geniveve mumbled at her shoes.

“Sorry, sorry, couldn’t resist,” Sylvie said. “And besides, it’s not like he’d have made it here if the animals didn’t like him.” She turned back to address Nic, a sliver of ice entering her tone. “It’s a big forest after all.”

Nic didn’t know what to say to that and so kept quiet as Sylvie continued unprompted.

“Have you seen mother yet?”

“Uh, no, don’t think so,” Nic said. “We just got here.”

“We? You and Veve?”

“And my master, Orlin Greytower.”

Sylvie’s eyebrows shot up at his words. “Master Greytower is here?”

“In here Sylvie,” came Orlin’s voice again.

Sylvie’s smile somehow doubled in brightness, and she left the room, speaking something that Nic didn’t hear. Nic and Geniveve were left alone again, the dreaded silence made worse by the fact that Geniveve was taking a deep fascination with floor.

“Sorry about her,” she said eventually.

“It’s alright,” Nic replied. “She seems nice.”

Geniveve gave a quiet hum, finally regaining her composure and managing to look him in the eyes. Though that didn’t last long before he looked away again.

“Should we go back to the others?” Nic asked. “Before someone else shows up?”

Geniveve said nothing, just nodded and followed as they returned to the entry hall. Orlin was still there, flanked by both Sylvie and Lunette, that latter of whom had returned to human form, save a small pair of wings she used to hover at his shoulder. She was engaged in animated conversation, tripping over every other word in her rush to get them out.

“And then I turned into a squirrel and ran away and ran up the tree and it couldn’t get me and it was real mad and so I laughed at him and he got even more mad and it was funny.”

“I see,” Orlin said, his expression what Nic would call tolerant.

“That’s when the hawk showed up.”

“The hawk?” Orlin asked.

“Ye, the big red one. It thought I was lunch but I got away before it could get me. I was too fast.”

“Amazing.”

“She’s been telling this story for weeks,” Sylvie said. “Though she cuts out the part where I was on the other side of the clearing the whole time.”

“I didn’t need help.”

“No sweetie, of course you didn’t.”

Lunette hissed, dive bombing her sister with arms outstretched and fangs bared. Sylvie was ready for her, casually raising a hand to hold her back, a fact Lunette was not happy about as she fruitlessly flailed and hissed. Sylvie barely seemed to notice, nor did Orlin as he turned his attention to the older woman.

“Speaking of, I noticed the forest has expanded. Your doing?”

“Well, I helped but it was really more of a-”

“BA!”

The new sound cut off the conversation, drawing all eyes towards the landing overlooking the room. A bubble the size of a beach ball hung there, wafting over the railing with gentle, unbothered movements. It was not perfectly spherical, a pair of pointed horns poking up from the top, though that was marginally less concerning than the fact there was a person inside. A baby, one that couldn’t have been more than a year old. They wore a deep purple onesie and a tiny, pointed hat tied to her head by a strap under her chin, its colour standing in sharp contrast to her deep red eyes.

“Estelle, sweetie,” Sylvie said. “You know it’s naptime.”

Estelle ignored the words, instead fixing her attention squarely on Orlin as she reached out for him. The bubble obediently drifted forward in response, carrying the small child down to hover upside down in front of Orlin.

“Ba!” she repeated, reaching out with her stubby hands. The elder techne responded in kind, holding out both his hands to catch her as she drifted the last few inches between them.

The bubble popped the second it made contact, producing a low boom. Estelle instantly fell, though Orlin was quick enough to catch her, holding her at arms length as the two of them stared at one another with inscrutable expressions. Nic was so focused on the sight that he almost didn’t catch Sylvie and Lunette moving away.

The reason why quickly became obvious as the baby’s face screwed up and she let out a piercing wail. A sudden explosion burst from Estelle in the same instant, washing Orlin in a wave of reddish flame and smoke. Nic instinctively dove for cover, pushing Geniveve with him but the whole thing burned out long before it reached them, the smell of brimstone lingering in the air.

Nic looked over at the scene to find Orlin still standing, his face and hair blackened with soot, a singularly unamused expression on his face. He still held the baby, the little one completely untouched by the blast despite being its source. Thankfully she seemed to just have the one in her, reduced to simply crying in the more traditional, less explosive manner.

“Aw, Estelle what’s the matter?” Sylvie asked, emerging from cover. Estelle held out her arms towards her, chubby little fingers grasping at the older woman. Orlin wordlessly handed her over, Estelle burying into Sylvie’s shoulder as she continued to wail.

“Shhh, shhh, it’s okay, everything’s okay,” Sylvie cooed, lightly patting her back. “Sorry Master Greytower, we’re still trying to figure out how she does that.”

“I see,” Orlin said, pulling out a handkerchief and dabbing at his soot-stained face. “A recent development I take?”

“Mother’s working on it, she thinks-”

“What is going on out here!?”

Yet another new voice as yet another new person emerged from the glass door. This girl sat in the middle of everyone so far, being older than Lunette by many years but visibly younger than Geniveve. Mousy was the first word that leapt to Nic’s mind, her long brown hair, baggy clothes and severe glasses giving her a scruffy, unkempt look. Her hat was a muted green with a prim point and modest brim. Though far less flamboyant than those worn by her sisters, Nic couldn’t deny it fit her to a tee.

“There’s no need to shout Celeste,” Sylvie said. “You’re scaring Essy.”

Estelle continued to cling to her sister, pouting mightily, though she’d collected herself enough to raise her head and watch proceedings.

“I’m scaring her!?” Celeste boggled, throwing up her hands. “The baby that sometimes explodes!?”

“Celeste, can you just not be you right now? We have guests.”

“Okay, cool, don’t care,” she insisted. “Some of us are trying to work.”

“work? you were reading smut on the Net.”

This voice sounded strange, distant and hollow, as if coming from a long way off. Nic couldn’t see where it was coming from until he spotted Celeste’s shadow had stood up. It was a perfect imitation of Celeste’s outline, the peaked hat making her quite easy to identify. The only splotch of contrast was the impression of her glasses, which were stark white to stand out from the solid black that made up the rest of her form.

“S-shut up! No, I wasn’t!” Celeste snapped. She took a swipe at the shadow, the spectre deftly moving aside and letting her hand sail clean through the empty, or at least emptier, air.

“missed me,” they said

Celeste said nothing, simply crossing her arms and looking away, muttering under her breath.

“mature.” They turned to look at Nic, at least so far as he could tell. “who are you?”

“Our guest Selene,” Sylvie said.

“okay,” Selene said. “same question.”

Sylvie rolled her eyes, though the smirk on her face deflated its bite. She went to say something but was interrupted by, somehow, yet another voice, this one drifting down from the stairwell.

“Girls? Girls, what’s going on down there?”

A woman appeared on the landing overhead. While clearly an adult, she was nearly the shortest person in the room, even Celeste having a few inches over her. A glance was enough to tell that she was their mother, her features an amalgam of all the other women in the room. From her soft build to her sharp face, the flowing grace of her movements and the look of sparkling curiosity in her eyes. Though honestly it was the bright yellow hat on her head that really sealed the deal.

“There you all are, what-” She stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of Orlin where he stood in the middle of the hall. Before he could say anything in reply, her face split into an enormous grin of delight.

“Orry!” she cried, leaping forward down the stairs. Rather than fall she began to fly, zipping through the air much like Zephyr did. She closed the distance in a flash, circling Orlin twice before coming to a rest at his shoulder, hands propped under her chin.

“Hi!” she said.

“Hello Renee,” Orlin replied.

“What brings you here? Me? It’s me, right?”

“In a sense,” Orlin said, inclining his head towards where Nic and Geniveve stood. Renee rotated in place to face them, Nic feeling a familiar weight settling over him.

“Ah, I see, I see,” she said. “Was wondering when you’d bring this one around for a proper ‘how do you do’.”

Orlin said nothing, giving only a noncommittal grunt. Renee didn’t seem to notice, instead shifting her gaze to Geniveve.

“Veve, sweetie, there you are. We were wondering why you didn’t come down for breakfast.”

“Sorry I was…sorry,” Geniveve said, rubbing the back of her arm.

“No matter, no matter,” Renee said, waving a hand dismissively. “You can tell us all about it later. Now, where there’s an Orlin, there’s bound to be a windy little devil. Right!?”

She called the last to the room at large, a quiet giggle answering her from deeper inside the house. A sharp draft washed over them soon after, followed by the sound of things clattering to the floor, followed in turn by a loud crash.

“My telescope!” Celeste cried, pushing past the crowd towards the commotion.

“I told you to put that away,” Sylvie called, moving to follow with Estelle still held in her arms. Renee moved after them, none too subtly pulling Orlin along, Lunette trailing in their wake.

“Come on Orry, we better go keep the peace.”

“A first for this house I think,” Orlin replied, earning a swat and a smile from Renee.

“Damn straight,” she said before they all vanished around the corner, leaving Nic and Geniveve alone in the hall.

For a time neither of them said anything, the dreaded silence softened somewhat by the utter confusion roiling away inside Nic. Eventually he worked up some words to say, though they were hesitant and uncertain.

“Um, that was, something.”

“Yeah,” Geniveve replied. “Sorry about them. I know they can be a lot.”

“A lot can be good.”

Geniveve said nothing, taking another keen interest in her shoes. Nic took the initiative, sensing the awkwardness returning.

“Should we go catch up with them?” Geniveve nodded, falling into step next to him as they ventured forth into whatever chaos awaited.

*

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